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2024-25 Academic Catalog

Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture

Overview

The Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture (MA) is a 36-credit-hour degree program designed to equip Christian leaders for executive pastor roles, entrepreneurial ministry opportunities, nonprofits and business as mission.

The MALC program utilizes a hybrid, cohort-based delivery model, consisting of regular synchronous video conferencing sessions, asynchronous online coursework, and two in-person BridgeWeek intensive experiences. 

The MALC curriculum includes courses in Christian leadership theory and practice, biblical and theological foundations, ethics, and spiritual formation. The study of leadership involves exposure and training in disciplines such as team building, conflict resolution, reconciliation, cultural humility, strategic change, adaptive leadership, technology, administrative and financial development best practices, and individual and social transformation processes. The spiritual formation courses give the student exposure to the development of deep moral and spiritual values, spiritual disciplines, and self-awareness and self-management skills. 

Degree Outcomes

Students will be equipped and formed to think with clarity as they:

  • Interact with Christian Scripture, history, and theology in order to develop an informed understanding of Christian leadership.

Students will be equipped and formed to live with integrity as they:

  • Deepen awareness of God, self, and others through formative practices in preparation for life-long personal and vocational flourishing. 
  • Cultivate their own healing in order to companion individuals and communities towards wholeness.

Students will be equipped and formed to serve with the heart of God as they:

  • Develop entrepreneurial and innovative skills for faith-based enterprises. 
  • Lead in a diverse, globalized, and technology-driven world.

Admission Requirements

Applicants seeking admission to the Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture program must hold a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university†, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. In addition, applicants must complete the following to be considered for admission to the program:

  • Submit Portland Seminary application and application fee
  • Submit one official transcript from each college/university attended
  • Resumé
  • Personal mission statement and statement of faith
  • Three letters of reference (as specified in admissions materials)
  • An interview may be required in some instances

†Applicants who do not hold a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university may apply to the seminary and will be required to submit additional documentation to be considered for admission.

Transfer Credit

Transfer of up to 18 hours of credit is allowed toward the Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture program from ATS-accredited graduate schools. Students must have earned a grade of B or better for a course to be considered for transfer. In addition, only courses taken elsewhere within 7 years of the date of matriculation to the Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership program will be considered for transfer. Transferability of credits earned at this institution and transferred to another is at the discretion of the receiving institution.

Residence Requirements

Residence, as described in this section of the catalog, does not refer to the time a student spends on campus. It refers to the portion of a degree program that students are required to earn with Portland Seminary, as compared to transfer credits and credit applied as advanced standing. With regard to the MA in Leadership and Culture program, students are required to complete half of the degree (18 semester hours) directly with Portland Seminary. A leave of absence is valid for up to one year, after which the student must reapply to the program. Reinstatement to the program after withdrawal requires Admissions Committee action and may subject the student to additional requirements for the degree.

Course Requirements

The Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture program is generally two years in length with 36 semester hours of coursework required as a minimum for graduation. Of the total hours required for the degree, 18 are in leadership courses, 12 in spiritual formation courses, and 6 in biblical and theological foundations courses.

The program also requires participation in two ‘Bridgeweek’ face-to-face intensives.

Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate with the Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture degree students must:

  • Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 semester hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
  • Achieve no grade lower than a C- in all courses. If a grade lower than a C- is received, that course must be retaken (for more specific information, please refer to the student handbook).
  • Fully participate in all required ‘Bridgeweek’ intensives. 
  • Successfully complete each milestone.
  • Be recommended by the seminary faculty for graduation from Â鶹´«Ã½ Fox University.

Other Degree Requirements

Students are required to complete coaching in the final year of the program. The seminary assigns each student a coach from an approved pool. They meet with the coach three times each Fall and Spring Semester. The coach provides the seminary documentation of student progress. Coaching expenses are covered by a fee attached to SLDR 530 Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Christian Perspective and SLDR 550 Administration and Finance Development for Faith-Based Enterprises.

Curriculum Plan

Complete the following:
This course provides students with a general overview of the Bible. Students will be introduced to the history of the literary formation of the Bible, important theological and socio-political themes in both testaments, and their implications for today's world with a particular interest in spiritual formation and Christian practice.
Complete the following:
Examines key theories, methods, and concepts in Christian ethics. Discusses select historical sources influential in the development of theological ethics, with particular attention to its Protestant expressions. Evaluates major contemporary issues and competing moral claims in Christian ethics.
Complete the following:
In the realm of leadership, both inside and outside Christian communities, numerous models are seeking to bring lasting change in systems or organizations. This course will not only look at the varying models of leadership, noting their strengths and limitations, but students will also develop a theologically formed definition of leadership that is embodied, incarnational, and contextually driven.
Builds the capacity of women and men to effectively develop cultural humility and leadership skills for an increasingly globalized and diverse world. This course will explore methods for curating sacred spaces in diverse contexts, responding to justice concerns both personally and communally, and understanding how to engage and manage conflict.
Designed to assist leaders and their communities in understanding and engaging in the faithful transformation of the cultures, systems, and structures of their context. The course follows a practical and theological approach, engaging in description, theological evaluation, and transformational practice while drawing insights from various disciplines to help discern effective and faithful change in a cultural system.
Complete the following:
Social innovation has historic roots in the Christian church. Christians have always led creative endeavors to address systemic issues in the world that operated outside of the traditional church setting. Students will develop the skills necessary to plan, strategize, create, and implement new and creative faith-based social enterprises that address contemporary issues in the world. Additional course fees may be required.
This course is the study and evaluation of the impacts of technology on individuals and society. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of the access and use of technology locally and globally. It provides a theological framework for students to discern their own use of technology, including the use and influence of social media, for a social enterprise or faith-based not-for-profit
The administration and financial practices of faith-based enterprises are complex. This course will explore principles and practices of administration covering not-for-profit finances (including best practices around donor relations), staff and personnel relations, legal concerns, management of daily operations, and other unique administrative practices for faith-based ventures. Additional course fees may be required.
Complete the following:
This course is facilitated by a Formation Guide and is designed to provide students an opportunity to develop awareness of self-in-connection as a pathway to explore the triune God’s presence in their preparation for vocational flourishing. Students will reflect critically and constructively on their identity, spiritual histories, sociocultural contexts of formation, and sites of (un)belonging. Reflective practices and discernment skills will help students sift through their interior and exterior experiences to explore their origin and the movement of the Spirit for an increased awareness of shared humanity as a sacred site of God’s transforming work in the world. Additional course fees may be required.
A Formation Guide facilitates this course and invites students to deepen their awareness of God and self through the prayer practices of the Great Tradition of the Church. Students will explore the Christian faith’s contemplative, liturgical, and sacramental dimensions as pathways for experiencing the sacred in the ordinary. Recognizing that spiritual practices hold meaning in varied ways, this course will be an opportunity to assess how prayer originates from the context of the one who prays. Finally, students will engage with the rich heritage of historic Christian spirituality, drawing insights from Scripture and the mystics from around the world and across the centuries to consider how their images of God can expand and enrich a life of prayer.
This course is facilitated by a Formation Guide and invites students to explore God’s transformative action and desire for restorative justice and Shalom through ancient and contemporary voices. Students will broaden their awareness of unjust systems while considering their personal participation in oppressive structures. Theological and reflective discussion will invite students to recognize formational postures and narratives as an invitation to actively join with God in truth-telling and compassion that seeks to extend God’s hospitality and restore the imago dei within all. Additional course fees may be required.
A Formation Guide facilitates this course and invites students to explore Christian ministry as the giving of an integrated self. Reflecting on the polarities of woundedness and healing, presence and absence, self-owning and self-giving, students will grow in awareness of healthy and unhealthy behaviors and mindsets. By owning and naming this process, students will explore how to cultivate healing for spiritual meaning-making within the life stories of the persons and communities they are called to serve.